Pencil sharpener



Aug. 22, 1950 H. BECKER PENCIL SHARPENER Filed May 1'?, 1948 TTUQNEV condition.

Patented Aug. 22, 1950 PENCIL SHARPENER Henry Becker, Culver ICity, ICalif., assigner of three-fourths to Zachary Melnikof, Los Angeles, =Calif.

Application May 17, 1948, Serial No. 27,457

16 Claims. (Cl. 1Z0-87) This invention relates to a, sharpener for a pencil having a relatively soft crayon.

China and eyebrow pencil leads or cores, pal'- ticularly the latter, are composed of a soft, wax

like substance which is diicult to sharpen with* a razor blade or knife. When sharpened in this manner, the greater portion of the pencil is usually wasted in the attempt to obtain a neat, fine point desired by most women and artists. Furthermore, such a neat, iine point is exceptionally diicult to obtain by such sharpening methods.

Generally, when the pencil requires sharpening, the knife or razor blade is not readily available, and the pencil is continued to be used in a dull The present invention provides a Sharpener, which, when not in use, is quickly removable with its cap or cover when it is desired to use the pencil, and quickly replaced and the cap then removed from the Sharpener when the pencil needs sharpening. A brush may be provided in the end of the cap to clean the shavings from the Sharpener.

There are several features of importance embodied in the pencil unit and Sharpener. the pencil is advanced as needed by a screw mechanism, the pencil crayon, however, being under spring tension during sharpening. Since the crayon is soft, a certain predetermined pressure of the pencil into the conical Sharpener is provided by spring tension of the required amount, it being possible, however, to eliminate the resiliency of the spring when it is desired to insert a new crayon when pressure must be applied to the holder-ejector socket. Another fea-2;

ture is the form of Sharpener used, this unit consisting of a plurality of tapering blades tilted at an angle to the chord of any cross-sectional circle and which are semi-flexible for expansion under the pressure of the spring behind the*- crayon. Also, one knife blade may be extended slightly beyond the ends of the others in order to always insure a fine point. Thus, the sharpener provides the desired type of point backed by a smooth cone with the removal of the minimum l amount of crayon.

It is understood that ejector Writing and slate pencils and Sharpeners are known, as disclosed by U. S. Patents No. 366,791 of 1887 and No. 1,431,722 of 1922, but these pencils use comparatively hard leads and do not provide a predetermined sharpening tension, the type of sharpener, or the arrangement of sharpening casing and cap.

The principal object of the invention, there- First, j

fore, is a device for facilitating the sharpening of a pencil with soft crayon.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the appended claims, the manner of its organization and the mode of its operation will be better understood by referring to the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a combination eyebrow pencil and Sharpener embodying the invention. I

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional viewv taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. l.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, detail View of the sharpener unit of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 1-1 of Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged, detail view vancing unit of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, in which the same numerals identify the same elements, the complete unit has three tubular casings, a central, double-tapered, cylindrical casing 5; a double-tapered cap 6; and a rotatable end portion 1; although, it is to be understood that the outer coniguration of the casings may vary from that shown in the drawings. A cylindrical pencil socket 9 having a portion of its shell punched inwardly, as shown at IIJ, to prevent rotation of a crayon Il therein, has a head or enlargement I4 at its lower end with a notch or keyway l5 therein. The socket 9 is slidable longitudinally within the upper portion of casing 5 and within a sleeve portion I6 at the upper end of the shell 5, rotation of the socket being prevented by the key ll in notch l5 attached to the inside of the casing 5.

To the head I4 is fastened a threaded rod 20 and upon which is threaded a nut 2| having longitudinal grooves 22 on the surface thereof diametrically opposite one another. Surrounding the nut 2l is an upper sleeve portion 24 of the end piece 1, the upper end of the sleeve 24 being crimped over the nut 2l as shown at 2t in Fig. 8. The sleeve 24 also has detents which iit into the detents 22 of the nut 2| so that rotation of end piece 'l will rotate nut 2|. Surroundof the lead ading the sleeve 24 is a sleeve 25 upon which the lower end of casing is Slidable and which permits easy rotation of the sleeve 24 within the casing 5.

Encircling the lower end of `rod 2G is a coil spring 21, one end abutting an internal shoulder 28 of the end 'I, and the other end of the Spring abutting' the nut. 23|?. 'll'here i's thus a tension on the nut 2I=, rod 20, andv lead Ii urging'the crayon outwardly at a predetermined pressure determined by the tension in the spring. Any longitudinal force on the crayon exceeding this tension may depress the spring until its coils are in contact. The nut 2| cannot: move upwardly beyond the sleeve 24, Since the edge of sleeve '24' iS crimped at 26 over the nut 2 I.

Referring now to the cap 6 this cap has a closure plug 30 threaded in one end thereof and to which iS attached a short brush 3l. Thus, the cap not only covers the Sharpener, removes -`the` Sharpener, as will: be'. explained later, and

completes the unit, butI contains a very useful adjunct for the article.

In:y Figs. 1', 2,3, 6', and '7., thesharpening unit is illustrated, this unit'. comprising a cylindrical,

externally ribbed,.sleeve. 35 having an externally smooth, upper portion 36: which has its upper edge' 31 crimped. over. toA hold a 'Sharpener 45. Between. sleeve 3.5 andthe Sleevey I B is a bearing sleeve 42, thefrictionbetween thesleeve 36 and cap 6' being: greater thanv the friction between the Sleevesl 35. andi 42'.. Thus, when the cap 6 is pulled away from the casing 5, the Sleeve 351 and Sharpener' 404 are removed` with it, thereby .exposing the crayon I I for use. If it is desired to use the. Sharpener, the ribbed portionl ofV sleeve 35 is grasped, and the cap removed therefrom, the Sharpener remainingV in the position shown in Fig. 6. Should the pencil crayon be retracted, therend Il isi turned until the pencil is inserted in the Sharpener, as shown in Fig. 6-, and until the pressure of' spring 21 holdsthe pencil in the Sharpener. The Sharpener 4U is then rotated once or twice, and the' pencill is sharp. The cap is then placed on sleeve 35, and thus, the sleeve and' Sharpener are removed' from they pencil when the cap iS removed. I-f' itis desired to clean the Sharpener after use, the lbrush 32|' may be removed fromthe cap 6- and' applied to the Sharpener 'before the cap is placed ony sleeve 35.

AS mentionedv above, the Sharpener is espeoially constructed for' a soft crayon. It comprises a plurality of especially tapered cutting blades 44, the smaller ends of which approach eachother, but dov not contact at the tip of the Sharpener. The blades are Set asshown in Fig. 7, so-th'e sharpener'is rotatable ina clockwise direction to .d0 the sharpening. The blades 44 are Semi-flexible, which, in cooperation with the spring 21, places a predetermined taper and point on the pencil, thus eliminating the use of hand force which may vary with each individual user.

' To insureannely pointed tip, one of the blades such. as shown at 46 is slightly longer than the others, and thus, extends beyond the tips of the other blades.

When the penicl isusedA to therim of the socket 9', it may beremoved by a sharp, pointed instru- 4 ment inserted in the slot II) and a new crayon inserted. To hold the socket xed during the inserting operation, the end 1 is turned until the head I4 abuts the internal shoulder of the casing 5 and the turning continued until the nut 2| depresses the spring 21 to its full extent and its coils are in Contact. The end 1 is then turned in the opposite direction to withdraw the pencil within the shell 5 to adesirabl'e operative position. Although the Sharpener has been illustrated and described in combination with a pencilit. may be used independently for sharpening other crayons of the same size or could be varied in size to accommodate diierently sized crayons.

I claim:

1. A Sharpener for a crayon resiliently held in a holder comprising a cylindrical base section and a plurality'of conically tapered, semi-flexible bladesv attached to said base section, Said blades being arranged to form a hollow cone and tilted at an angle: to the. cord'ot? army crosse-sectional circle of said Sharpener..

2. An eyebrow pencil: Sharpener in accordance with claim 1, in which the end` or one of' said blades extends beyond vthe tips of. Said other blades.

3. A crayon Sharpener; comprising: a ring4 section and a plurality of" blades extending frcmone edge of said ring section in, the.v form of aY cone, said lblades being wider at the: point ofattachment to Said ring than at their tips, said4 blades being tilted at an angle ta the' cord of any crosssedtional circle of said Sharpener;

4. A crayon Sharpener' in accordance with claim 3, in which the cross-Sectional areas of said blades decrease from' points of attachment towardtheir tips torender Said blades flexible under pressureof said? crayon within the cone.

5. A Sharpener for arr eyebrow pencil lead re- Siliently supported in a holder on which' said Sharpener is adapted to be inserted, comprising' a cylindrical base adapted to slide over s'aidf crayon and adapted to be rotatable on Said holder, and a plurality of tapered' blades having their wide ends at one edge of said base and their tipszadjacent one another near theaxis of- Said base, said blades being adapted to bear against saidf resiliently supported leadl and being tilted at anl angle to the cord of any cross-sectional circle or" said Sharpener.

6. A Sharpener in accordance with claim 5, in which one of said bladesl is longer than said other blades.

HENRY BECKER.

REFERENCE-S CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent: 

